Penguins News

Penguins-Capitals In-Game Blog

0:00: That's game. Pittsburgh falls to Washington by a score of 1-0. Neuvirth earns his second shutout against the Pens this season.

0:04: The Pens are whistled for icing. The faceoff goes all the way back into the Pittsburgh zone.

0:38: Michalek's shot bounces crazily to the net but Neuvirth pounces on the loose puck!

0:46: The Caps are whistled for icing with less than a minute left to play and Bylsma's going to use his timeout!

1:07: The Pens have pulled Flower!

2:08: The Caps are whistled for icing. The Pens get the faceoff deep in the Washington zone.

4:34: Pascal Dupuis spun around and snapped a shot at the net, and Neuvirth tried to make a glove save. He wound up simply swatting the puck to the ground, but a Capitals defenseman was there to clear the puck.

7:05: There have been no stoppages of play these last few minutes. Both teams are battling hard.

9:19: Rupp hustles down the ice with the puck after getting a quality shot off a few seconds earlier.

12:01: The Pens are getting some great chances but just can't convert. Letang just got a couple of shots off with TK hovering for the rebound, but Neuvirth covers.

12:46: Talbot nearly breaks free for a breakaway but Carlson gets enough of a stick on him to cause Talbot to lose an edge on the play.

13:51: Dupuis gets a great chance on the doorstep but can't convert.

16:06: The Caps use their timeout after getting whistled for icing.

Get your adrenaline flowing with the Pens-Caps pump-up video played on the Jumbotron here at CONSOL Energy Center:

17:05: Tanger picks up the puck on the red line and waits patiently before dishing a pass to Sterling, whose shot rings off the post!!!

17:51: Sterling toe drags the puck around a Caps defender and rips a blast on net, but it's deflected out of danger.

19:01: A puck bounces off the helmet of Johansson, who's stationed in front of the Pens net. It flies up and out of play.

19:29: Dupuis tees off a shot from the right point after going back to cover for Letang, but Neuvirth makes the stop.

20:00: The final frame is off and running!

THIRD PERIOD

SECOND PERIOD NOTES- Staal leads with five shots while Talbot has four- Orpik leads with five hits while Wallace has four- Michalek has four blocked shots- Letang has logged 16:55 of ice time

0:00: That'll do it for the second. The Pens enter the second intermission down 1-0 to the Capitals. Pittsburgh is outshooting Washington by a 25-21 margin.

3:22: Ovi absolutely blisters a shot from the point into the cage past Fleury. That puck was seriously going so fast I barely saw it go in. Capitals 1, Penguins 0

4:12: Staal breaks free for a shorthanded breakaway but just can't lift it high enough over the pad of Neuvirth!

4:44: Vitale just got a pair for tripping. Pens on the PK.

5:09: In a Fleury-like display, Orpik blocks a shot with his left leg while already on the ground in front of the Pens net.

6:25: Engelland rips a blast from the right side of the ice that clangs off the left post!!!

7:03: In an impressive display of strength, Staal manages to fend off Ovi and wheel down the ice to float a puck at Neuvirth.

8:34: Ryan Craig and Bradley just dropped the gloves for a spirited bout.

8:40: In regards to that earlier issue with the lights, team officials don't know why they went out. It may have been a computer problem. But nevertheless, they're investigating the source of the problem. It takes 15 minutes for the lights to fully turn back on after rebooting.

9:50: Both players are out of the box. We're back to 5-on-5 hockey.

It's a snowy night in Pittsburgh...

11:30: Fleury just made one of those wheeling glove saves on Ovi that makes your jaw drop.

11:50: After Matt Bradley charges at Cooke and sends him into the boards hard, Staal comes to the aid of his teammate and a scrum ensues. Both Staal and Bradley are getting minor penalties - Bradley for charging, Staal for roughing. We've got some 4-on-4 hockey for the next two minutes.

12:41: Pens back to full strength.

13:32: Ovi tries to stickhandle the puck into the Pens zone but is whistled for offsides.

14:42: Cooke is getting a pair for interference. Pens on the PK.

14:57: TK carries down the right side of the ice and rips a shot at Neuvirth, which deflects off his pad and into the corner.

17:32: Staal with a slick drop pass to Letang on the circle, who wheels and deals to the net but his shot is turned aside by Neuvirth. Nice play by the Pens.

18:37: The Pens are whistled for a hand pass. The faceoff moves out of the Caps zone.

20:00: They're off!

SECOND PERIOD

The lights are back on! Let's play some hockey!

With about a minute left in intermission, the PA announcer just said that play will be on hold for a bit as there is a problem with the lights. In a foreshadowing of this event, Sam Kasan chose the song "All of the Lights" to kick off this morning's Penguins Report. Weird...

Get to know James Neal, the Pens' newly-acquired forward, by watching a highlight reel of some of his goals:

FIRST PERIOD NOTES- Talbot leads the Pens with four shots- Staal is 5-of-8 on faceoffs for a 53-percent success rate- Kennedy has two blocked shots

0:00: That'll do it for the first. The Pens have outshot the Caps by an 18-7 margin in a scoreless first period.

0:22: Caps back to full strength.

1:50: Sterling is playing the right point alongside Kris Letang on the first PP unit.

2:22: Jason Chimera blasts Talbot into the boards before he can get to the puck. Chimera's going to get a pair for interference! Pens on the PP.

2:55: Staalsy with a beauty of a wraparound attempt that's denied by Neuvirth's pad!

4:08: Wallace crushes John Carlson into the boards!

5:04: Ovi gets a nice chance on a rebound before the puck squirts out to Johansson. But his point-blank shot is no match for Flower.

5:37: Caps back to full strength.

7:37: TK keeps his feet moving as he hustles to the net and draws a penalty on Scott Hannan, who gets a pair for holding. Pens on the PP!

8:22: Talbot wins a faceoff back to Engelland, who sends a pass over to Michalek for a shot. Talbot goes straight to the net off the play and nearly stuffs the rebound in. No. 25 has come out with some fire so far tonight.

8:29: Sterling steals a puck at the Caps blue line and sends a nifty drop pass to Staal, who tees off a shot that Michal Neuvirth snags with his glove.

8:51: Huge shift by the line of Craig-Vitale-Wallace. They cycled, kept possession of the puck and got bodies to the net. Lots of energy from that trio.

11:00: Ovi receives a nice pass by Semin and wheels down the ice on a breakaway, but Fleury stays with him the whole time and is able to get a piece of it with a great stretching save!

12:22: The Caps are back to full strength.

14:22: And now Alex Semin is getting a pair for delay of game! Pens on the PP!

14:36: Sterling nearly tips a puck into a wide-open net after a pass from Orpik, but he can't quite get a collar on it!

7:15 PM: As you all know by now, Penguins general manager Ray Shero was busy this afternoon – acquiring forward James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen from the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Alex Goligoski.